Saint Matthew United Methodist Church

  • Kids’ News

    Sue Kelcey

    We discussed the wonderful creation of God. We have discussed the creation of different plants and animals that inhabit the earth. In Sunday school, the kids were sure He was happy with His creations; then he created man to care for the earth. What if we took time to really appreciate God’s creations and care for and appreciate the wonders of creation through the eyes of a child? God created people to be different and unique, just like God created the rest of the world. After God had created the garden full of beautiful plants and trees, God realized the garden needed a caretaker, so He created a person named Adam. The animals in the garden were helpful to Adam but God became aware that the garden required more work than Adam could maintain. The next person God created was called “helper.” This reiterates God’s divinity within humanity, and our call to work together, side by side, to care for all of creation. God created another person who could work side by side with Adam. Adam named that person Eve. Eve was created to be a partner to Adam, to be in relationship with him and share equally in caring for the garden and the earth.

    God used creativity to create beauty and a world of wonder. Help your children know that they are God’s children and help them to create beauty in the world around them. None of us can do this alone; by working together, we can be creative helpers of God. See you in church Sunday.

    Blessings

  • Saint Matthew Today for September 20, 2023

    Jason Hardy
    2023-09-20-St-Matthew-TodayDownload

  • 2340 – A Bigger Barn Won’t Help

    Jason Hardy
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    Luke 12:16-21 New International Version

    16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

    18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

    20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

    21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

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  • Friday’s Word

    Max Brennan

    Good News All Around

    You know—I talk about the dangers of biblical inerrancy.

    Yes, many good people are biblical inerrantists. But many good people are very selective about the neighbors they will be good to.

    And they support their unkindness to gay people and other minorities with scripture.

    For the inerrantist, all scripture is of equal value and authority. No priority is given to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

    His message of God’s unconditional love for all people is overruled.

    Scripture itself is used to silence Jesus.

    But I see signs of hope in the church. Yes, the church is in decline; but conservative, inerrantist Christianity is declining at the fastest rate of all.

    “Evangelicals” are down to 14% of the population from a high of 25%.

    And they are the oldest group–average age, 56.

    That’s what makes the future of the churches who recently broke from United Methodism look uncertain.

    They have joined a doomed group. Doomed—because their opposition to gay people and love for Mr. Trump leads to a moral dead end.

    It has no future.

    And that’s good.

    Unkindness needs to die.

    The worst thing that could happen is for the far-right church to flourish.

    A. W. Tozer said of the racist white church in the 60s, “We do not want revival of this. A revival of the kind of Christianity we know today in America might prove to be a moral tragedy from which we would not recover.”

    So, the good news is that hatred and ignorance are becoming harder to sell.

    We do need revival.

    But only if Jesus is at the heart of it. +++

    Join us for worship.

  • Max’s Corner

    Max Brennan

    This Sunday

    Sermon: A Bigger Barn Won’t Help
    Scripture: Luke 12:16-21

    About the Concert

    We would like to have had a few more people; but it was an “off” week, with lower attendance on Sunday, also. But that’s the way it works in church. The nice thing is that the concert seems to have gone as I hoped it would and I believe people found it meaningful.

    You know, the “concerts” that I put together are a bit like revival services. They are intended to be worship experiences—starting somewhere and leading to the cross—which is where all worship leads.

    And our other concerts are great because on those we have great singers doing wonderful music.

    I think you should always make a point of attending all of our monthly concerts. The next one is on October 14. It will be me and Blake.

    I know!—I know!—if Blake is singing, I am hardly necessary. But I don’t want to drop the whole thing on him. Still, the concert will be exciting because “the voice” will be in it.

    By the way—thanks to Jason Hardy, Mel Creason, Linda Parker, Veta McCulloch and everyone else who worked to make the concert and dinner possible.

    GOD BLESS—-MB